Then you should read Eisenstein. Karel took his tiny bit of editing philosophy from him. Most of the book is about the mechanics of editing film. Another series of books worth reading are by EDWARD DMYTRYK. Called "On Screen Directing" "On Film Editing" etc.

The Sacramento International Film Festival is giving people two chances to screen work. One is the 48 Hour Film Festival where teams complete a short movie in 48 hours.
http://www.ncwfonline.org/id42.html

The second is Current Visions. In conjunction with Current TV, Filmmakers are asked to submit a 10 minute documentary for screening. The documentaries can be about on any topic including: Bio, Humanities, Politics or other. The top documentaries will also be picked up for broadcast by Current TV.
http://www.ncwfonline.org/id61.html

Yep, clearly Eisenstein is key. I'm really enjoying the war films of Humphrey Jennings; the way he combines music with a documentary (Listening to Britain) and poetry with a documentary (Words for Battle) is masterful. And although he clearly is influenced by montage, Jennings is singularly British as well.

I'm also enjoying how King Vidor weaves sound and scene in Our Daily Bread and his work generally (The Crowd).

And I remain a serious devotee of Bunuel and his editing throughout his very long career.

I'm interested in exploring new avenues in what role sound plays in a documentary and how to weave that into the editing process. Any reading suggestions you might have along these lines would also be warmly welcomed.

If you're enjoying the Jennings, a must-read is Dai Vaughan's "Portrait of an Invisible Man: The Working Life of Stewart MacAllister, Film Editor". Remember that "Listen to Britain" credits Jennings and MacAllister as co-directors.

It's the single most inspiring book on editing documentary I know, written by the most experienced documentary editor in the UK. It's out of print, but you can still find copies via websites like http://www.abebooks.com

The Streaming Festival is now accepting submissions for its 3rd edition in October 2008.

Deadline for submissions is 01 September 2008.
Accepted genres are documentary, animation, video art, flash and narrative.
No entry fee.

Send submissions through postal service, or provide a website link with a preview to the submission.

The Streaming Festival is an international artfilmfestival on the internet. Films are presented full screen on streaming servers with high image quality.
The 3rd edition will start in October, and lasts four days. The Streaming Festival is based in the Netherlands but has no geographic boundaries. Viewers can visit from any location in the world, at any given time and plug into one of the festival streams.

Hello all . . . I'm working on a project in which I would like to use entries from an old diary I've uncovered. However, I'm having the hardest time reading a large portion of what the person wrote. Does anyone out there know of a good hand-writing expert who may help me "translate" the entries? Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!

To "Anonymous Please", we've deleted your post because we have a policy at The D-Word that no one can post anonymously. We're not censors – if you identify yourself, and are willing to confirm it should we feel the need, then feel free to post it again.

Adam, for Guatemala, you can probably get a good lead from Jan van Bilsen who is based in Nicaragua but has worked all over South America for 25+ years. He is/was a member of D-Word but I've not seen him post here. I know him from 2-pop, 6 years ago. Please share my best regards. This is the last email I have for him. bilsen@ibw.com.ni and if you google his name you'll notice his credentials...

Docs In Progress is partnering with NomadsLand to curate a special international edition of our popular works-in-progress screenings. After a worldwide call with excerpts from the finalists posted on the NomadsLand.com website, we have selected two documentary rough cuts to be screened and critiqued by a live audience with out-of-town filmmakers participating in the discussion via Skype.

WHEN? Sunday, February 17 at 6:30 pm. The screening will end no later than 10 pm.

HOW MUCH? $5 (cash only, at the door). Cost includes the screening and discussion only. Food and drink are available at cost from Busboys and Poets.

WHAT'S SCREENING?

COMRADES by Dean Hamer
Struggling against 5000 years of Confucian tradition and a communist government that views any type of organizing with suspicion, China's gay community is finding novel ways to fit into the fabric of modern society without hiding who they really are.

CASA (HOUSE) by Luis Alaejos and RaÃºl DÃ­ez Alaejos
In what was once the tallest building in all of South America, 1500 neighbors of all social classes co- exist. This is a portrait of Montevideo's Palacio Salvo and its occupants: artists of little and great renown, recent arrivals attracted by the building's bohemian atmosphere, those who want to leave, but can't, and those who are the ghosts of a building's faded past.

Please come join us and pass the word on. Filmmakers and non-filmmakers alike are welcome to attend and participate.

I'm looking for a Spanish speaking boom operator in the San Diego area. Must have a valid passport. Shoot is March 1st to approx. March 10th. Will fly with a charter plane from San Diego to the San Ignacio Lagoon where the majority of the shooting will take place. Return will be by plane, if we're lucky, or by bus (14 hrs). Can pay $600 plus all expenses. Two-person crew, this is the fourth shoot. I'm an MFA student at the U. of Texas, Austin, and this is my thesis, a documentary about eco-tourism (whale watching), environmental conservation, and the displacement of local people. If interested contact luciaduncan@gmail.com. Or if others on D-Word know of people who might be interested, let me know!

Hi,
we are a film production company that produce and co-produce features,shorts and documentaries for theatrical release.Our philosophy is a simple one:We don't make films for you.We make them with you.
our web site:www.gffilm.tv
Thanks!
Ivica

I need an Assistant Editor to come to Cleveland for several days, a week, or however much time necessary, to come up with organization system for a long form doc containing 200 – 300 hours of footage and numerous characters. Footage needs to be logged and searchable, interviews need to be transcribed and we need to be able to train interns to do much of the rudimentary work. Editing HDV material in Final Cut.

Fee negotiable plus travel/living expenses and accommodations. Could eventually be an ongoing position depending on funding. Prefer someone within a 1000-mile vicinity of Cleveland (i.e. New York).

Your best solution is to get all 200 hours onto hard drives. Then make clones of sections of the materials that can be loaded into an edit system so people have control over the material. Let them make subclips with notes about the material. The transcript project should be done by a professional who can insert time code into the documents. That said, I wouldn't bother with transcripts of all the material. Too expensive. Just transcribe the 20% that may make it into the film.

Hello,
what would be the best options in terms of camera to shoot a shoestring budget documentary which requires a lot of outdoor shootings following a subject discreetly in different local public places and some indoors for interviews- (pretty much guerilla/ news style)?

now i have been told, since the film style will be pretty much hidden camera style (almost) , to use may be a high end HD consumer camera so i can hide it even in pocket.
does anyone know anything about the quality of these cameras below:
-Panasonic HDC-HS9 (HD & 24p)
Canon HV20 HDV (HD & 24p)
Panasonic AG-HSC1
Sony HDR-CX7